The Heart of the Matter
by Jeni27
Summary: Everyone says stupid things at the wrong time, but this one might just cost him a friend, maybe even two.
1. Hateful Words from a Friend

**The Heart of the Matter**

 **Chapter 1**

 ** _Hateful Words from a Friend_**

 _ **In which Adrien says some not-so-good things...**_

He hadn't meant to say it. He was just so tired of Alya and Nino getting on his case and trying to set him up with Marinette. He liked her well enough and they had become closer friends over the years, but that's all they would ever be because his heart belonged firmly to Ladybug and no one else.

Nino and Alya were just going to have to accept that and get off of his case.

Except they wouldn't leave him alone about it. They hounded him (he would give Nino some credit, at least he was subtle about it, mostly sticking to sly smirks and inconspicuous winks, but Alya was about as subtle as a brick wall). They would set traps in the forms of double dates and then ditch Adrian and Marinette. They would say things that had double-meanings, throwing off the entire conversation and making it awkward.

At first, he didn't understand why they were doing all of it until they were all sitting around a table in the library working on a group project. He had asked about some little tidbit of information, Marinette supplied the answer, and they went back to their research.

Or, at least he tried to go back to his research. The stare that he felt on him made it difficult to do so. He looked up from his book and found Nino's eyes boring into him.

"What?" He mouthed at his friend.

The librarian had been rather adamant lately about silence in the library.

Nino flicked his eyes back and forth between Marinette and Adrian. Adrian looked at Marinette and found that she was a little pink in the face, which, when he thought about it, wasn't really unusual for her around him, but never around anyone else. And then it struck him. He didn't know why it had taken him so long to figure it out. All of the stuttering and blushing, the running away and the flustered looks that she would give him when he talked to her, though it wasn't as bad as it used to be, it all added up to one simple fact: Marinette was crushing on him.

The epiphany shook him. Everything made so much sense now and he was a jerk for not realizing it sooner. How was he supposed to handle this? Sure, Marinette was sweet, but she was definitely no Ladybug. He felt a small amount of pity for her, for the pain that she would essentially have to deal with if she ever asked him out.

Oh, sweet cheese, how would he even be able to reject her. He lightly banged his head against the table they were sitting at, earning himself strange looks from his friends.

Marinette raised her hand as if to pat him on the shoulder in comfort, but he raised his head and looked right at her. She squeaked, (which is all he could think to call the sound that she made) and pulled her arm back. A dark blush covered her face as she knocked her arm into the table. Alya and Nino watched in baffled amusement while Marinette rubbed her elbow.

"Um," she started, "are you okay, Adrien?"

She looked so earnest and just _why_ did she have to be so friggin' sweet. Seriously, this girl just literally banged up her arm and was in obvious pain and she was asking if _he_ was okay. _What even?_ And here he was contemplating how he would have to eventually break her heart. He was the worst.

Adrien groaned, nodding his head against the table. He decided that if it ever came down to it, he would have to let her down gently. He really hoped that she never actually got the courage for it.

So now, here they were, three weeks after his realization. Marinette still hadn't said anything to him, which he thanked Ladybug's luck every day for. (Plagg said that didn't even make sense, but Adrien just didn't care.) He, Nino, and Alya were getting their books out and making sure they had their homework for the morning classes; Marinette was running late as always. Though, Adrien vaguely noted that this was probably the latest she had been all year.

Alya turned to him, a wicked gleam in her eye, and Adrien just knew that she was going to start in on one of her mad schemes to set him up with their dark-haired friend. He held up his hand in front of her mouth, stopping her before she said anything.

"No, Alya. Don't start."

Alya huffed. "You don't even know what I was going to say though."

He rolled his eyes in much the same way that his lady did to him when he would make a pun. "Let's just make it clear right now, guys," he said, making sure to include Nino in the conversation. "I have no intention of ever dating Marinette. I don't like her, and I would greatly appreciate it if you guys would stop hounding me about it."

He hadn't realized how frustrated he was until he realized he had raised his. He expected them to be surprised. He expected them to have some form of apology. He did not expect them to be staring at him, eyes wide, and gaping like fish.

He groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

Alya nodded.

Okay. He was a man, he could face this. Marinette didn't have a cruel bone in her body. She would understand that it was all a misunderstanding and their friendship wouldn't be ruined by his careless words.

He turned around ready to apologize profusely, and stopped at the sight of the person in front of him. He had never truly understood the word haggard until that moment.

Her hair was pulled back into an untidy braid, little wisps of it sticking out as if she went to sleep with it like that. There were dark circles under her eyes, the color juxtaposing the paleness of her skin and making her face look gaunt instead of the healthy glow that usually effused her cheeks. She wore a baggy inside-out dark green sweater that hung off of one shoulder, a light pink strap visible crossing over it, and black leggings with holes in the calf and knees as opposed to her usual pink jeans. There was shock and confusion in her tired, drooping eyes.

He watched in fascination as she closed her emotions off, (he didn't know she could do that; she was always such an open book), and drew herself up. As tired as she looked, a fire was burning in her eyes that reminded him vaguely of his lady. She walked up to him and he gulped. He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly had not been a quiet "excuse me," as she stood in front of him.

"Huh?" He said intelligently.

She gestured behind him. "You're standing in front of my locker. I need to get into it."

It was one of the most fluid sentences he had ever heard from her.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and moved away from her, gripping his bag tightly.

"Um," Nino started.

"Right," Alya cut in. "We're uh, just gonna go. Let you guys chat it out."

Adrien would have appreciated the unintentional pun if he wasn't so nervous about the whole situation. He kept glancing at Marinette as if she were going to blow up or break down, but she just shrugged and entered her locker combination, clumsily opening it and dropping her books as she went through her daily routine.

She turned to look at him as the bell rang, raising a questioning eyebrow and asking, "Did you, uh - need something?"

Adrien didn't know what to think. Was she angry with him? Did she misinterpret his words? Did she even hear what he said, and if so, was she going to treat him in the same way that she did when they first met and the whole gum incident happened? (He wasn't sure if he could handle that).

But as the final bell rang, signaling that they should be in class, Adrien took the free pass for what it was and stumbled over his words in his haste to make his escape from those exhausted-looking and piercing blue eyes.

"Um – yeah, just… Uh. No. No. I'm just gonna go – now. So… Yeah." He pointed nervously to the door and backed slowly towards it.

Marinette watched him go, a flicker of amusement faintly overshadowing the sadness that she wasn't able to completely conceal from him.

As he was finally, _finally_ turning to the door, Marinette called out, "Hey, Adrian?"

He sighed, _So close,_ and turned around abruptly. "Yeah," he said, rubbing the back of his neck again.

She was looking him straight-on, and her voice was as clear as it ever was when she was making a point to Chloe, "I'm sorry you feel that way about me."

"No, Marinette. That's not what – I meant." His voice trailed off as he realized that Marinette had turned back to her locker, completely dismissing him.

 _ **A/N: Two things: First: This was written before season two ever even came out. Second: I have not seen any of season two, nor any spoilers, therefore there is an excruciatingly large chance that this is nowhere near being canon-compliant.**_

 _ **Also, I am aware that the characters are probably OOC. I'm actually pretty sure that this is why I didn't post it in the first place, but then I found it on my computer today and decided, what the hell, I want some angst, and I want Adrien to be the actual cause of it, because (warning: unpopular opinion here) as much as I love Sunshine child, I don't think he's as perfect as everyone makes him out to be.**_

 _ **Let me know what you think (and if you decide you hate it, you can tell me that too - just be nice about it).**_


	2. A Confused Kitty

**The Heart of the Matter**

 **Chapter 2**

 ** _A Confused Kitty_**

 _ **In which Adrien has questions, everyone interrupts each other, and Marinette is just done…**_

Adrien ran to class, conscious of the time and that he was late once again. He wished in that moment, that he had some of Marinette's _je m'en fous_ attitude about being tardy. A shout from the classroom had him sprinting to the door, only to stop at the threshold.

Chloe and Alya were standing toe-to-toe in the center of class, foreheads almost pressed together, and Adrien would swear that he saw steam coming out of their ears. Their peers were all watching on from their seats, and _is Kim recording this?_ Mme. Bustier was nowhere to be seen, and that was the only thing that Adrien really felt thankful for at the moment.

Slipping into his seat unnoticed was relatively easy since all of the other students were focused on the two girls at the front.

"What did I miss?" He asked Nino.

Nino barely glanced at the model, seemingly solely focused on the ombre haired girl. However, Adrien noticed the slight flush to his friend's cheeks and the slight widening of his eyes.

"Nothing," Nino coughed out and then cleared his throat. "Just Chloe being Chloe." 

Adrien sighed. He really wished everyone would just get along. "What does that mean?" He pressed.

Nino let out a slight huff and turned to the blonde.

"Adrien, tell her!" Alya yelled, breaking off whatever Nino was about to say and storming over to the boys' table.

"Tell her what?" He backed as far away from the fuming girl as he could. Even with the table between them, he wasn't so sure he would be able to escape Alya's wrath if he said the wrong thing.

"There was an akuma attack early this morning and Ladybug was the only one that answered the call – "

"It's so obvious that Chat Noir flaked out," Chloe said snidely before Alya could finish.

"What - ?" Adrien spluttered. "How do you figure that's obvious?"

"Think about it," The blonde girl continued as if he hadn't spoken, looking at her nails and buffing them on her jacket, "early morning attack, Ladybug all by herself, no kitty cat by her side. One can't help but wonder what he was up to."

Adrien flushed at the implications of her statement. He had no idea how to respond to them without outing himself as Chat Noir. As it stood, he hadn't even been aware of an attack, and he wondered briefly why his lady hadn't contacted him in the first place, or if she did, why Plagg didn't tell him.

"That's not fair, Chloe!" Alya yelled, lunging for the other girl.

"Come on, Alya," Kim piped up. "Chloe's kind of right. Chat's a guy. It's kind of obvious that Ladybug isn't giving in to Chat. He's gotta get it from somewhere."

Adrien sputtered. Is this how his classmates really saw him? How the people of _Paris_ saw him? What about Ladybug? Is this why she wouldn't even entertain his advances? He opened his mouth to say _something_ , to say _anything_ to defend his honor, but he had no idea how to even start.

"Or maybe, and this is just a thought," Marinette said from the doorway, in the sweetest, most sarcastic voice Adrien had ever heard the girl use and drawing all of the attention from their classmates onto her, "he was asleep because he has a very busy schedule and didn't hear the alert."

Adrien let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. And choked on the next inhale. Because how could she possibly know anything about Chat Noir's schedule? Did she know who he was? Was it just a lucky guess? What did Marinette have to gain from defending Chat Noir anyway?

"How would you know?" Chloe demanded, storming over to the designer.

Marinette shrugged in disinterest. "I don't know anything; You make sure to tell me that every day."

Chloe glared at her and Marinette huffed and rolled her eyes.

She looked at Adrien as she made it clear to everyone that, "Chat's my friend alright? Geeze."

And in that moment, Adrien was sure that Marinette knew a lot more than she had ever let on. But before he could entertain those thoughts any further, their teacher, Mme. Delvaux nudged Marinette into the classroom.

Mme. Delvaux had dark brown hair, a pointed chin, and brown eyes that she used to give the dark-haired girl a pointed look. The young designer went somewhat grudgingly, to her seat. She shook her head as if to clear it and Adrien was sure that he saw her mouth the words, _not worth it_ before she stepping forward and ignoring his questioning look completely.

What did she mean, _not worth it_? Was she talking about him? Was he not worth her time anymore? Did she decide that she was over him all because he said he didn't like her? And why did the idea of her getting over him bother him so much? And if Marinette does know who he really is, how would it change their friendship? And _oh god, Ladybug was going to kill him._

The fact that there was no nod of acknowledgement, or a small, quiet and squeaky _"Good Morning, Adrien,"_ bothered him far more than it probably should have.

In general, Adrien was not a mean person, but as Marinette moved past him, he decided, in a small bid of churlishness that he wanted her attention, even if it was of the negative variety, on him. So, he stretched his arms out over his head, his shirt raising up enough for anyone paying enough attention to catch a glimpse of his lower abdominal muscles, and pushed his legs out into the aisle right as Marinette went to step up onto the stair.

His actions had the desired effect, though maybe he didn't think this through as completely as he should have, because as much as Marinette was trying to avoid looking at him, he could tell from her small squeak that, yes, she did catch that glimpse of skin he just oh-so-deliberately showed. She promptly tripped over his feet and ended up laying across his lap with her shoelace tangled up in the foot of his chair.

 _How?_

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Marinette rushed out, trying to pull herself out of his lap. When she tried to stand and step forward, she tripped again.

Adrien grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up. "Don't move, okay? I'm going to get your shoe untangled, just stay put."

She nodded in acknowledgement, a red hue taking over her cheeks as he leaned over to take care of it.

Chloe snorted from her seat and sneered over at Marinette. "It's basically the only way you can get a guy to notice you anyway, isn't it Marinette?"

"Huh?" She blinked slowly at her nemesis, almost as if she was just waking up.

"The only way to get your 'long-time' crush to notice you is to fall all over him. Is that the best you can do, Clutzerella? I mean, really, we all know you're desperate, but this is a bit much."

Marinette jolted from Adrien's grasp, kicking him in the forehead as she pulled her away.

"OW! Seriously, Marinette - " Adrien cursed. How could she have such a hard kick at this close of a range? And also, _wow, she's strong_.

"Oh no," Marinette mumbled, reaching down to help pull him up. He grabbed her hand and put one arm around her waist, while he closed his eyes and buried his face in her hair. She smelled of cupcakes and flowers, and something else that he couldn't quite place, but he felt strangely safe next to her while he waited for the pain and stars behind his eyes to recede.

He felt her stiffen and he was sure that if he opened his eyes she would be completely flushed. The corners of his lips twitched at the thought and he felt a slight rumble in his chest at the idea of making her blush. _Where did that come from?_

He never got the chance to pursue that thought because Marinette pulled away from him just enough to stare at his chest with wide eyes. "Are you-?" She started breathlessly, but was cut off.

"Adrikins! Are you okay?" Chloe jumped from her seat. She didn't get very far though, Mme. Delvaux had had enough of the shenanigans of her class and she finally stepped in.

"That is enough!" Her voice cracked like a whip causing silence to reign momentarily throughout the classroom. "Marinette," she huffed, "get to your seat. Now. Please."

"Umm," the designer whimpered from where she stood in the half-circle of Adrien's arms. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, by standing this close to her, he was able to see how purple the circles under her eyes really were and he wondered if her tears were from exhaustion, frustration, or Chloe's cruelty. _Maybe a combination of the three?_ She glanced at him shyly from under her lashes and pushed out of his arms.

Marinette stood there for a moment, taking in everyone in the class. Chloe's sneering face, Mme. Delvaux's frustrated tapping foot, Alya's questioning expression, and Adrien's blank face all stood out to her.

 _Nope_ , Marinette thought. "I've decided I'm done for the day, Miss," she said, startling the teacher with her announcement. She grabbed up her fallen bag and bolted for the door.

"Marinette!" Mme. Delvaux yelled after her. The girl glanced briefly at the teacher, but it was enough of an acknowledgement for her to continue sternly, "Where do you think you're going?"

The young designer stopped at the door and said in a relatively calm voice, "To take a nap. My mind can't handle all of – that." She finished with a vague gesture at Adrien.

"Dude!" Nino whispered as Adrien took his seat again and the teacher quieted the class down, "What was that about?"

"I have no idea," was the blonde's distracted reply. There were so many thoughts and emotions going through his mind, he couldn't figure out which one to settle on. But one thing was certain, Marinette was acting weird, well – weirder than normal anyway, and Adrien feared that it wasn't just because he said he didn't like her. He was almost sure that she knew who he really was, and if that was the case, he was so thoroughly screwed.

 _ **A/N: Since it has been a good, long minute since I have spoken, read, and/or done really anything with the French language, there is a good chance that words and phrases that are used in the story may be wrong. (I can only hope that I have used them correctly and I do not make a fool of myself).**_

 _ **I'm not sure about this chapter. I struggled with it a lot, but I'm tired of going over it and I'm pretty sure that I expressed the confusing emotions that these two idiots are dealing with well enough. Tell me what you think.**_


	3. Introducing: Adrien sjaf Agreste

_**A/N: I don't know that much about photoshoots, models, the making of videos, or contracts. There is a highly likely chance that some of this is wrong. So, for creative purposes and to get you guys this chapter quicker, I would suggest just going with it.**_

 _ **Also, I want to give a huge thanks to lilsherlockian1975 for beta-reading this even though she has never seen the show!**_ __

 _ **Her words at the end of reading this chapter made my day so much!:**_

" _ **Okay, it's official. I have no idea what's going on, but damn if I don't ship Marinette and Adrien!  
I really like this story!"**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 **The Heart of the Matter**

 **Chapter 3**

 ** _Introducing: Adrien "She's Just a Friend" Agreste_**

 _ **In which there is a photoshoot and Adrien should really think before he speaks…**_

 _Jagged Stone was the most popular rock star in the world. His music was always in the top five of the music charts, his style of dress was copied and emulated by impressionable teens, and the designs he wore were coveted by top designers all over the world. The latter was a recent development that had developed over the last two years._

 _Jagged showed up to the Grammy Awards show of 2015 wearing a simple pair of black leather slacks that were embedded with dark purple stones running down the sides, and lining the pockets. He wore a dark purple shirt, unbuttoned halfway and a gold sleeveless shirt underneath. The jacket he wore was also made of leather. The same stones were embedded into the collar, but there were spikes and rhinestones on the shoulders. He wore a chain necklace and wristband that was the same color of the stones._

 _The look was pulled together, simple, and most people would think that that any designer could do something so simple. The look itself probably would have gone ignored, if it weren't for the purple and gold shoes speckled with black spots across the sides. One of the interviewers on the red carpet found them to be an interesting item to the outfit._

 _"I don't think I've ever seen anything like them before. They make the whole outfit stand out more. Who's the designer?" she asked._

 _"Well, you wouldn't have, would you?" Jagged replied with a small laugh. "My personal designer came up with the look for tonight. I called 'im up out of the blue. Didn't give 'er much time to get the look together, but Em is good at working on the fly."_

 _"Em? The interviewer asked curiously._

 _"MDC," Jagged answered with a decisive nod. "Elusive, that one is, but I was able to get a contract signed." He huffed good naturedly and smiled. "It was totally worth all of the hoops though." The interviewer was about to ask another question, but someone called for Jagged and he sent a wink at the camera before taking off to the doors_ _._

 _And that was all it took for the design world to go crazy. Every designer that styled for rockers and the grunge world wanted M. Stone to model their clothes for them. But his contract with this MDC made it difficult to get him to do so. He stood by his designer's outfits and creations; he would not betray them by wearing someone else's clothes, even if those clothes were just casual jeans and t-shirts._

 _This made things difficult for Gabriel Designs. The company had started a new line of clothing that catered to the grungier side. It was a risk that Gabriel had been willing to take in expanding his company to other creative ideas for clothing. At the time the concept had been brought before the board, Jagged Stone had been without a personal designer. He had a crew that helped with his style, but no one contract with a distinct label._

 _The idea was pitched that they could get Stone to wear the Gabriel label, but by the time the idea was accepted by the board, it was too late for the lawyers to get a hold of him; Jagged had already signed a contract with MDC._

 _However, after months of phone calls, details worked out, legal deals and matters hammered into place, and one irritating producer, Gabriel Agreste was able to get a combined photoshoot with Jagged Stone and the ever-elusive MDC._

 _Adrien bounced in his seat as the limo pulled up to the curve in front of the building where the photoshoot would take place. He wasn't sure how his father was able to get Stone to do this job, but since Adrien was the head model and the face of Gabriel Designs he had a chance to actually work with_ _The. Jagged. Stone._

 _He was so excited._

 _Now he might have something he could talk to Marinette about and maybe she would open up a little more. Maybe she would stop distancing herself. After all, wasn't she the one who had designed the rock star's favorite glasses and probably the most popular album that had ever been sold by him?_ _And_ _just when did you begin to want Marinette to talk to you more?_

 _Ever since the fateful day in the locker room where he announced to all of his friends that he didn't like Marinette and she walked out of class, she had been actively avoiding him. Adrien was many things, oblivious being the most prevalent according to Nino and Plagg, but even he noticed when someone turned around and walked away as soon as they saw him. She would go as far as cancelling plans with Alya and Nino if she knew Adrien would be with them._

 _He would like to say that the situation wasn't bothering him that much, but then he would be lying to himself, and with so many secrets and lies in his life, he tried to at least be honest with himself. And then there was Ladybug's absence. Oh, she was there for the weekly akuma cleansing and the nightly patrols, but she was quieter than normal. She didn't respond to his puns and flirtations. Sometimes he could see a small smile grace her face, or she would open her mouth as if to say something in retaliation, but then she would shake her head and tell him that she needed to go or they needed to finish whatever it was they were doing._

 _Adrien took a deep, cleansing breath. He needed to focus on the photoshoot, not his women problems. His father was going to be on set today which meant that Adrien needed to be on top of his game._

 _He waved to the other models he would be working with as he made his way to the dressing rooms. There were quite a few outfits from the Gabriel label hanging on the design rack, but it was the second rack that caught his attention. The end of it had a sign that said MDC on it. Adrien wondered if there were other MDC models besides Jagged Stone or if Gabriel was going to allow his models to wear these outfits. He hoped it was the latter, because these were some of the most amazing designs he had ever seen._

 _He wasn't able to contemplate it too long; one of the hairdressers noticed him and ushered him into hair and makeup. He tuned out the chatter around him and found himself wondering how his friends were doing. He wished they were here to keep him company. He bet that if he were able to invite them, not even Marinette would say no, especially since she would get the chance to see original Gabriel designs up close._

 _Now there's an idea_ _, he thought, not even paying attention as his dresser put him into a pair of jeans and a shirt and rushed him out of the room._

 _"Adrien! Oh. Wow!" Monique Cosineau exclaimed rushing over to him. Her red hair was wrapped up in a twist, and her makeup done just right to make her brown eyes stand out. She was wearing a black leather skirt and knee-high stockings. A white silk shirt peeked out from under a black denim jacket that had small, red dots all over it. Her boots were also black. They had a pointed toe and a high heel, with a little red and black spotted bow on the outside of each. Her makeup was already done, and the overall look had him in mind of Ladybug._

 _Monique was one his father's few models that Adrien could actually stand, and he was glad that she was here today. Although her next words made him freeze. "You look just Chat Noir. If I didn't know any better, you could be his twin brother."_

 _Who had the bright idea to do a superhero theme? And on that note, whose idea was it to dress him up like Chat Noir? Not that they could be aware that they had, but still. And also,_ _why_ _did he not look in the mirror before coming out of the dressing rooms?_

 _"MDC does good work, yeah?" Monique continued as if she hadn't just given him a minor heart attack._

 _"MDC?" He breathed out. "But I thought we would be wearing Gabriel designs?"_

 _"We will be," the red head waved him off, "but as per legal stuff and M. Stone's schedule, we get to wear MDC's designs first. Which to be perfectly honest," she lowered her voice and leaned in to Adrien to whisper, "I think I prefer these clothes to your father's. They're far more comfortable."_

 _Adrien grinned but didn't say anything. He didn't want to agree and come across as disloyal to the brand that he was the face of, but Monique's assessment was spot-on._

 _"Come on, though. We have a few minutes before the shoot actually starts, and I think there's a mirror in the hall that you can check yourself out in!" She grabbed his arm and dragged him through the main room and past a table full of pastries._

 _He did a double-take and, yes, those were definitely croissants and cookies on that table. There was no way his father would have allowed that._

 _Monique giggled when she saw where he was looking. "Noticed that, did you?"_

 _"How?" Was his elegant reply._

 _"Apparently, M. Stone refused to work with Gabriel unless there was actual food on set, and not just fruits and vegetables. He demanded breads and pastries as well. He said that just because models and designers in the fashion industry refused to recognize the body's most basic needs, it didn't mean that he did as well. His team would have food or they would call the whole thing off."_

 _Adrien felt his respect levels for the rock star rise even more. So many of his peers had eating disorders. He felt like he was one of the lucky ones in that he was able to cheat on his diet regularly without getting caught. It helped that one of his friend's parents owned a bakery because even with her being distant, Marinette still made sure to bring more than enough croissants and pastries for all of them to snack on. Sometimes he wondered if she stuffed extras into his bag while he wasn't looking._

 _He asked her about it once, but she just shrugged and told him that he must have grabbed some while his mind was elsewhere. He didn't believe her for even a second, but he let it slide. Who was he to complain about extra food. Plus, she would bring special cheese rolls that stuffed Plagg enough to actually shut him up._

 _Monique pulled him to a stop in front of the mirror while he was thinking. He blinked a couple of times and then gaped. She had been right. He really did look like the Black Cat of Paris. His jeans were black with silver studs along the pocket and pant lines. The shirt he wore was made of lambskin leather. It was a dark green that was distressed so much it almost looked black in some places. He wore high-top black leather boots that folded over at the top to show the same dark green of his shirt. His hair was mussed in the same way that he knew it was when he was Chat. The makeup artist had lined his eyes with black eyeliner which made his green eyes even greener._

 _Great. All he needed was for someone to put two and two together. He supposed it was a good thing that his Chat and Adrien personalities were so different. Not that he did it on purpose, but it was working in his favor right now._

 _Monique's voice brought him out of his reverie. "MDC was given the pictures of all of the models. Jagged said that the designer worked his butt off to make sure all of the designs worked together and would mesh well with the Gabriel label as well."_

 _"Well," Adrien said, deciding to face whatever outcome looking like this might bring head-on. "Whoever this MDC guy is, he definitely knew what he was doing. It must've been hard for him to do these with only pictures for references."_

 _"I know. Right?" Monique's excitability had him smiling through his nerves. As she dragged him off, he swore he caught sight of a familiar set of pig-tails in the background of the mirror._

 _But that couldn't be right, could it?_

 _Why would Marinette be here?_

 _He considered the situation a little longer as he and Monique walked back into the main room. It was busier than before since the other models had finished dressing and getting ready for the shoot to start. Monique shot him a wicked grin and dragged him over to the food table._

 _When he realized what she was doing, he pulled his arm out of her grasp. "This is a bad idea. We should at least wait until we get back into our own clothes," he said._

 _She pouted at him. It would be adorable if it were coming from a midnight haired, pig-tailed girl with eyes the color of bluebells. But it wasn't. He chuckled at his friend's antics and grabbed her hand good-naturedly. "Come on, Monique. You'll survive for a couple of hours. We don't want to ruin some designer's clothes. We don't even know the guy. At least we know what to expect if it's my father. This guy could go on a warpath that would make my father look like a teddy bear._

 _Monique laughed and shuddered at the same time. "Is it bad that I want to see that? Think of the Instagram views we could get!_

 _Adrien's eyebrows puckered in thought, and he tapped a finger to his lips. "Yeah. It's pretty bad."_

 _She laughed again. He just grinned and pulled her in the opposite direction of the table._

 _Monique sighed but capitulated nonetheless. "Fine. But I just want you to know that we are passing up some of the best pastries in Paris._ _Tom and Sabine's Boulangerie_ _is amazing and I for one am most upset that you are insisting on being reasonable. Also, I'm hungry."_

 _He stopped._

 _He turned._

 _He looked._

 _He groaned._

 _Sure enough, the logo was there._

 _He was being tortured, and he was completely blaming Plagg for his luck, because this was just unfair play. He had been able to forget his troubles with Marinette for a couple of hours and then, bam. There she was, or at least some form of a reminder of her._

 _"Adrien?" Monique asked when she noticed that he was just standing there._

 _"Yo. you Agreste?" A voice interrupted the two of them._

 _The two models looked over to see a man a little taller than Adrien walking over to them. He had black, short hair with a blue streak of a fringe that covered one of his dark eyes like a pirate. He wore a pair of dark wash jeans and an untucked button-down cotton shirt. He grinned at them, and Adrien felt Monique grab his arm and sigh._

 _He glanced at his friend as she stared wide-eyed at the other male. Her cheeks were pink and her mouth was slightly open. "You should probably stop drooling before you ruin the clothes," he muttered._

 _She pinched the arm she was clutching, not letting her grip go._

 _Ignoring the girl currently wrinkling the sleeve of his shirt, he looked at the other man, "Yeah. I'm Adrien?" His voice rose at the end._

 _The other guy grinned. "You don't sound too sure about that."_

 _Adrien cleared his throat and held out his hand. "I'm Adrien Agreste. What can I help you with?"_

 _A smirk curled the man's lips and mischief danced in his eyes like he held some secret. Shaking Adrien's hand, he said, "I'm Luka Couffaine. I work with M and Jagged."_

 _"Oh," the blond said._

 _Luka just continued to smile while he held out a jacket and said, "You need to put this on so we can make sure it fits you right." He leaned in conspiratorially, "M might have a heart attack if this jacket isn't perfect."_

 _"I can see why," Monique muttered as Adrien put the coat on. It was made of a thicker distressed leather than the shirt he wore. It was black with splashes of green splattered all over it, as if someone had taken a paint brush and flicked the color on it. The cuffs of the jacket were also dark green, and the shoulders were covered in spikes and rhinestones_

 _He wanted to like it, and in all honesty, he did. He just didn't like that it made him look even more like Chat Noir._

 _The fit was perfect and there didn't seem to be any adjustments that needed to be made. Or at least that's what he thought. Luka started messing with the buttons as soon as Adrien got the coat on and the model realized that while they were all lined up, one of the middle buttons was missing completely._

 _"Damn," Luka muttered. He stood to his full height and told them to give him a moment._

 _"Hey Mari," he called across the room to where Jagged Stone was sitting on a chair backwards. His arms were folded over the back, a guitar resting against his leg and his pet crocodile lazing on the floor next to him. (It was obvious that the other models were nervous, but the reptile paid no mind to them and basked in the heat provided by the artificial lighting.)_

 _It was the girl messing with the collar of M. Stone's shirt that held Adrien's attention though. He would know that midnight hair anywhere, even if it wasn't in her signature pigtails. He had a flashback to the mirror a few minutes ago and wondered if she had seen him and run away to put her hair in a different style. Her being here also explained her radio silence to Alya and Nino, (and maybe him too, but he figured it was something more in his case)._

 _Adrien couldn't help but to ogle her as she walked over to them. He felt like it had been centuries since he had last seen her, though in reality it had probably only been two days. Her hair was in a braid again, though this time it wasn't as disheveled. She wore her signature pink capris with a black t-shirt. Her ballet flats were worn and tired, but she seemed to fit in with the people around her, model and business associates alike. He wondered how she was able to do that._

 _"Hey Luka," Marinette greeted when she reached them, casting a quick look at Monique and Adrien. "What's up?"_

 _"M's gonna kill us," he whined._

 _Marinette giggled. "Why? What happened?"_

 _Luka huffed at her. "I'm glad you think this is funny!" He gestured at the missing button on Adrien's jacket as he narrowed his eyes at the girl next to him._

 _Marinette smiled at the tall assistant and Adrien felt the same churlishness that rose up the other day at school making its presence known, and before he really thought about it he broke into their conversation._

 _"Are you really stalking me like Chloe's always telling me you're doing?" He asked snidely._

 _Three sets of eyes turned to him. But it was the pale face and striking blue eyes that almost did him in right there._

 _"Excuse me?" Marinette whispered in disbelief._

 _"Dude," Luka said._

 _"Adrien!" Monique scolded._

 _That was when Adrien really thought about what he said and who he said it to. This was Marinette. Sweet Marinette, who defended everyone, even Chloe when she was at her worst but still in the right._

 _A shadow flickered over the dark-haired girl's eyes. He swore she was going to just walk away from him right then. Instead, she cocked a hip and_ _smirked_ _at him. "I gave up stalking you two years ago. Your schedule got boring, and I had other things to do." She turned back to Luka who was watching them curiously. "I have the button right here. I found it on the floor and was wondering what it went to. You can fix it for him while I finish helping M. Stone."_

 _Adrien gaped at her. Who was this girl that looked like his shy classmate?_

 _She didn't spare the blond model a glance as she handed the button to Luka. Then she turned to the red headed model beside him and asked, "Are you Monique Cosineau?"._

 _Monique mumbled her agreement and Marinette smiled. "I just wanted to tell you that you could give Ladybug a run for her money in that outfit. I think M really outdid himself with his superhero theme."_

 _"Uh… Thanks." Monique said._

 _Marinette nodded and then shared a mischievous look with Luka, saluted them, and turned away. For the life of him, Adrien could not understand what it was about Marinette's back being towards him, but he didn't think (again) before saying, "What other things could be more important for you than following my schedule?"_

 _"What?" She asked, turning back to him._

 _Her eyes pierced him and he almost stumbled over his words. "You said that you had more important things to do. I want to know what they were."_

 _"Really?" Monique hissed._

 _But Marinette didn't even seem phased by his question. She blinked at him - slowly. And then she laughed, her eyes twinkling merrily, "Why, stealing your phone, of course," she replied cheerily as if it was common knowledge that Marinette Dupain-Cheng went around stealing phones._ _Or maybe it's only mine…?_ _He didn't have time to ponder that thought for long before she winked at him and was gone._

 _Monique doubled-over laughing and Luka watched on with a fond smile at Marinette before turning his attention to Adrien's jacket. Adrien frowned down at him, not liking the way the man watched his classmate._

 _Monique took in deep wheezing breaths, trying to catch her breath as she stood. "Friend of yours?" she asked cheekily._

 _"Yeah," he said wearily, "she's just a friend."_

 _A friend that kept throwing curve balls at him every time he saw her. He decided that keeping up with Marinette's sass was exhausting._

 _ **A/N: Um…Surprise character? I saw something about Juleka's brother on Tumblr, and I just really wanted to use him in my story.**_ __

 _ **On another note, my computer shut down on its own due to a "problem." I'm not sure what that problem was, but I do know that I lost the entire chapter, even though it was saved and I had to re-write it for you guys. (Personally, I think it's even better than the original).**_

 _ **Thank you, guys, for all of your support and comments, kudos, and reviews! They make so happy!**_

 _ **Let me know what you think!**_


	4. How to be Enigmatically Correct

**_A/N:_** **** _Dear Readers,_

 _Thank you for taking the time to read this next chapter. I apologize for how long it took me to get it out to you. However, it was stuck in a zone of "I don't want to be written." But, thanks to Miraculous Mumma (Andromedanewton) and all of the brainstorming, and being a willing ear for my pain and tears, I present to you - *drum roll* (lots of grumbling) - this... thing._

 _I hope you enjoy it._

 _Also, THANK YOU! to everyone who has commented, subscribed, left kudos, and bookmarked this mess of a story. You guys give me motivation, and I love you for it!_

 **The Heart of the Matter**

 **Chapter 4**

 _ **How to be Enigmatically Correct**_

 _ **In which we are still at a photoshoot, there is an akuma attack, and Marinette gets caught up in some thread.**_

Chat peeked around the refreshment table, hoping his lady would be able to get there soon. He had been holding the akuma off for the better part of ten minutes, but he didn't know how much longer he could do it.

Monique, or as she currently wanted to be called, Frayer, was holding Marinette up by strings. The black-haired girl was hovering in the air over their heads while Frayer yelled something about inconsiderate staff and hateful people. His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline when he heard her say that. He would expect that from Chloé, not his normally amiable friend. It was even more unnerving because he had watched the whole incident that led to her akumatization. Marinette, he knew could be clumsy, but her tripping into Monique and causing the model to spill her juice had not been Marinette's fault.

That had all been Alan, and when Adrien had seen the brown-haired model wrap his arm around Marinette, he felt his proverbial hackles raise. He wanted to go over and break up the love-fest. However, since he was in the middle of getting his pictures taken he had to sit there and watch.

Alan bent over close to Marinette's ear and whispered something. Even from this distance, Adrien was able to see the red flame across her cheeks. But instead of becoming a stuttering and giggling mess like most girls would (or how she used to be around him), Marinette pushed the model away from her. She glowered at him, shook her head, and stormed away. Adrien tracked her movements to the refreshment table where she grabbed a water and attempted to calm her nerves.

That was when it happened. Monique wandered over to where Marinette was standing and tapped her on the shoulder. The designer jumped, and in typical Marinette way, flailed as she turned, knocking the drink Monique was holding out of her hand. Red juice spilled all over her and the floor and with a screech she fell back into the table.

Everything in the room halted as everyone stopped to watch the proceedings. "Take five," the photographer said. Adrien, not needing to be told twice, jumped up and ran over to the two girls. He reached them at the same time as Luka and Alan. He could see Nathalie side-eyeing them while she discussed something with M. Stone, and he hoped he could diffuse whatever situation was about to happen before his father's assistant had to step in.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Marinette said, holding a hand out to Monique.

Once on her feet again the model whimpered as she looked herself over. The white shirt she wore had been styled with a decoration of frayed strings edging the bottom hem, and not only did it now bear a large pink stain in the center but one of the strings had caught on the table, creating a tear up the front panel of the garment.

Tears filled her eyes and her mouth trembled, but before she could say anything, Alan sauntered closer to them, clapping his hands in a mocking way. "Oh, good job, Moni. You're definitely losing your job now."

"What?" Marinette squeaked.

"I don't think – " Adrien tried to say.

"That's an original MDC design," Alan spoke over him and gestured to the shirt. "You're not going to get away with ruining another designer's shirt, especially a designer that Gabriel Agreste has been trying to get to work with him for as long as he has."

"Em won't be as mad as you think," Luka said from next to Adrien.

They stared at him in various forms of disbelief. "Em's more laid back than all that," he continued with a shrug.

"What is going on here?" Nathalie snapped, walking up to the group. Her eyes widened in horror when she took in Monique's shirt. "Ms. Cosineau," her voice was colder than Adrien had ever heard it before, and he swore she was channeling his father when she said, "If you aren't here to be professional, you may as well not be here at all."

"What?"

"NO!"

"That's not fair!"

"But I didn't…"

Marinette, Adrien, Luka, and Monique all spoke at once, but it was Alan's laughter that caused the red head to storm off, tears threatening to fall.

"I'll go after her," Marinette said before running off in the direction of Monique.

She didn't get too far before the other girl was back. Well, some semblance of her anyway.

Her red hair was now blue, the white shirt with the pretty MDC logo on the back was now completely black and the skirt was a hideous purple pouf that landed at her knees. There was what looked like a feather wrapped around one eye, and three frayed strips of evening wraps floating around her back.

"YOU!" Monique growled in a high-pitched voice when she saw Marinette. Her strings flew up and around, wrapping around the black-haired girl and pulling her up into the air.

"MARI!" Luka yelled from next to Adrien.

"What is going on here?" Came the voice of one Gabriel Agreste.

Of course. Of course his father would show up right now. How did he manage it?

"An akuma, Sir," Nathalie said.

"I see that." Adrien could hear the disapproval in his voice even though he couldn't see the older man.

It was Marinette's voice that broke him out of his stupor.

Was she seriously trying to reason with an akuma?

"Hey! Frayer! While I appreciate your enthusiasm to remain in the modeling business, and also the quality of this thread that you have me tied up in, do you think you could put me down. It's not that I'm afraid of heights, but that sudden fall at the end – I'm not too fond of the idea of it.

Yes. Yes, she was.

"I WILL NOT! YOU WILL BE PUNISHED FOR GETTING ME FIRED!"

Marinette spluttered. "I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Agreste isn't even here..." Adrien saw her eyes land on his father as she trailed off, "Oht. Aw hell," she said just audible enough for those in front of her to hear.

"I will crush the air out of you," Frayer growled, tightening the threads around Marinette causing her to gasp, "And then I'll do the same to everyone else in this room. I'll make sure there is no way they can fire me."

"Yeah. That's an awesome idea," Marinette wheezed out as her eyes roved over to Adrien. "But how's that going to work when Chat Noir gets here?"

"I'll take his miraculous and tie him up too!"

"Let's hope the mangy cat doesn't make it that easy on you, and also, that he gets here soon," she huffed out, eyes never leaving Adrien.

 _Why were her eyes not leaving him?_

 _Oh. He is Chat Noir._

If that wasn't enough of a hint for him to transform, it was almost too much of a clue that she definitely knew his identity.

Well shit.

Just then Jagged came running at Frayer, guitar raised over his head and screaming, "Put my designer down!"

Adrien decided he would dwell on that little tidbit later and used the distraction in his favor, rushing with the crowd to get out the door. He slipped away and quickly transformed.

After some daring heroics from Marinette, two cataclysms, and a no-show Ladybug, Chat stood next to a shaken Monique trying to calm her down and stop her abundant apologies. He wondered where Marinette had gone off to. She was better at this, and his transformation was about to wear off.

He sighed once more, "It's fine, Miss Cosineau. It happens. That's why my Lady and I are here to help. And speaking of my Lady, I need to get this akuma to her." He reached for the jarred purple butterfly, only to find it missing from where he had set it down.

"Where…?" He looked up just as Marinette slipped out the door with the jar. He didn't even give a goodbye to Monique, as he rushed out after his classmate. Just where did she think she was taking that!?

He saw her walk around a corner into a secluded hallway. She was reaching into her purse for something when he ran around that same corner. "Princess!"

Wide, slightly startled blue eyes met his. Whatever she had been about to do was halted by his presence. Her face morphed through several different emotions before settling on resigned indifference. "What is it, Chat?"

He gave her his most winning grin. "Where are you going with that?"

If possible, her eyes got wider. "I'm going to take it to Ladybug," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Chat raised an eyebrow. "In a secluded hallway?"

Marinette huffed. "I was putting it away until it was time to leave."

The answer was plausible enough. There were several rooms in the hallway that she could be heading to for safekeeping, but something told him she wasn't being entirely honest. Which was weird, because Marinette hated liars almost as much as Ladybug did.

"I think it would be better if you gave that to me and I took it to Ladybug later. I will see at her patrol. You on the other hand may not see her for a while." He held out his hand, waiting for her to put the jar in it. But she only smirked when his ring beeped for the fourth time. Chat glanced at it, giving enough of a distraction for Marinette to squeeze around him and back out into the main corridor.

"HEY! Princess! Come back here!"

But she was already halfway down the hall. She turned around long enough to say, "Don't you worry, Chaton. I'll make sure this is good and safe!" And then took off at a run. He would have gone after her if his ring hadn't given its final beep and his transformation fell.

 _ **A/N:**_ _Comments and Kudos are life!_

 _P.S. If you don't like this chapter, you have my full permission to go and rewrite it yourself. I'm sooo done with it._


	5. Rooftop Conversations

**_A/N: Oooh! So many comments, kudos, subscriptions, and faves! You guys are the best! Here, have chapter five. I hope you enjoy it! *throws out virtual hugs and cookies*_**

 **Chapter Five**

 **Rooftop Conversations**

 _ **In which Chat misunderstands things, Marinette acquires a shirt, and there is still no sign of Ladybug.**_

It was already a forgone conclusion that Monique would not be keeping her job. Adrien had wanted to go to her as she was escorted from the building, sobbing, but he was pulled back by M. Stone's drummer. From what Adrien had seen of him, the guy had been mostly silent throughout the shoot, only moving when he was told to or rocking out to a beat only he could hear. He shook his head at Adrien and nodded for him to look again.

Luka was rubbing Monique's back and whispering to her. Adrien felt his proverbial kitty hackles raise. How dare he!? Wasn't he Marinette's boyfriend? At least, that was the vibe that Adrien got from the two of them when they were all together. And then there was the way that Luka had screamed Marinette's name when Frayer pulled her into her threads. That was the scream of someone about to lose their lover.

Riding on top of the anger for his sweet friend, was a tidal wave of remorse for when she found out that she was being cheated on. He thought back to all those weeks ago when he had first realized her crush on him and the pain he felt when he realized he was going to inevitably have to turn her down and the mixed-emotions that roiled through him now that he was realizing that she may be over her crush on him. While these emotions sucked for him, he had learned how to cope with a blank façade, but he was pretty sure that this might break Marinette.

Monique gave a watery laugh, breaking Adrien from his reverie and causing him to lose a little respect for his friend. She was there when Luka was clearly flirting with Marinette and now here she was being taken in by this lothario. Well, painful or not, he decided he had no choice but to tell Marinette the truth, no matter how much pain it may cause her. It was better for her to deal with it now in the possible early throes of their relationship than to find out that Luka was a cheating bastard.

Disgusted at how Luka was leaning more into Monique's personal space than was probably necessary, Adrien turned away. But he grinned slightly at the thought that if Mari wasn't dating that jerk, then she would be free to date him.

Wa-ait? Where did that thought come from?

He needed to go for a run. A real one. Preferably over the rooftops and away from his Mari-problems. Except, he realized as he was hustled back into the building to face the wrath of Gabriel, he was going to have to tell Ladybug what Marinette knew and apologize for her getting away with the akuma butterfly.

Why was this his life?

Plagg pushing against his pocket in some strange sense of compassion made him feel a little better, or maybe he just wanted more cheese. One could never tell with Plagg. Adrien decided to take his comfort where he could get it.

His father was livid with everything. Had he been any other designer, Adrien was certain that he would be throwing a fit. Instead, his cold gaze and rigid attitude forced everyone into a tense atmosphere that was hard to work in.

It got even heavier when Marinette came back though Adrien couldn't figure out why. She was normally all smiles and happiness and brightness, but when she was hustled off by Gabriel and M. Stone, Adrien was sure that something wasn't right. About twenty minutes later, a self-satisfied looking Jagged came out from the back room talking to a slightly-shaken looking Marinette. His father came out a few minutes later, his face screwed up thoughtfully and an angry furrow to his brow still there.

"Marinette!" Luka yelled and ran over, grabbing her up into a hug before she could protest. "What happened?"

Adrien's teeth were on edge. He needed to tell her about her boyfriend's cheating ways.

She laughed and that was it.

"…and she said she would consider it!"

"That's amazing! If we can get…"

"Sorry to interrupt," Adrien said, coming up to them, not looking sorry at all.

"Adrien." Marinette jumped and held a hand to her chest. "You scared me."

Luka nodded at him. "What's up?"

"Can I borrow Marinette for a moment?" Adrien grabbed her wrist a little harder than he should have and pulled her away, not waiting for a reply from the other man.

He tugged her struggling form into a corner, his ears burning red from all of the attention Marinette's sputtering was garnering them.

As soon as he let her go, she whirled on him. "Adrien! What the hell?" 

"He's cheating on you!" He was quick to say before the fire in her eyes ignited into something else.

"What!?" It was amazing to watch the color in her face go from red from exertion to pale white in the span of a couple of seconds. Her sputtering started back up for an entirely new reason.

"Luka," Adrien said, finally calming down, but wanting to get the words out quickly. "Your boyfriend. He's cheating on you."

"My what? Adrien. You think – Luka and me…?" Her eyes darted behind him and away from him, coming to land on something far away.

"Well, yeah. You guys are so close. So, I just assumed…"

Marinette huffed out a laugh and brought her gaze back to him, amusement lighting up her whole face. She leaned in close, bringing a scent of vanilla and sugar with her, "You know what they say about assuming, Chaton?"

He shook his head. Her words barely registering.

Her grin turned Cheshire. "When you assume, you make an "ass out of you," she lightly jabbed her finger into his chest, "and me."

He slowly blinked at her.

"Oh. Kitty kisses! I'd give you some back, but you said you don't like me that way." Someone across the room called her name, and still smiling, she backed away from him. It didn't sink into his mind until much later that she had called him "Chaton" twice today.

 _Ugh!_

For the rest of the day, Adrien was in a daze. He only briefly came out of it when he couldn't find his regular every day shirt in his dressing room. It was just one more thing for Gabriel to be upset about when Adrien had to go and ask for one of the plainer shirts from the Gabriel line.

When the blond finally stumbled into his room, he flopped back onto his bed, arms and legs spread out, and stared at the ceiling. He eventually fell into a fitful sleep that was riddled with angry ladybugs attacking him, blue accusing eyes, and the words, "you don't like me like that" echoing throughout his mind.

When Plagg woke him a few hours later, Adrien had worked himself into a cold, sweaty frenzy. The god of chaos could only hope that the night's patrol would help him feel better.

(It didn't).

Bounding over the rooftops, ignoring the puddles that accumulated from the day's earlier rain, Chat took in the fresh air and allowed the wind and cold air to wash over and refresh him. As much as he needed to see Ladybug and discuss this situation with her, he took the opportunity to simply relish Paris at night.

He loved his city and everything that made it what it was: the lights, the sounds, the music, the busy streets, the twin-tailed girl in the flash of red that just landed on the roof across from him…

He did a double-take. Did Ladybug just appear out of his thoughts? This required more research. Pole-vaulting across the distance was no hard feat and he was soon landing on the opposite roof.

"Ladybug?" He called, walking around the large garden bed that was in the middle. There was no answer and he began to wonder if he really had just been daydreaming. Then he heard some whispering and shuffling and he turned quickly, baton raised as if to defend, only to find – nothing.

 _Huh?_

Well, if it wasn't his Lady then maybe it was a cat-burglar. (The Ladybug in his mind groaned as he snickered at his own pun). He probably shouldn't be as excited about this as he was, but a large grin spread over his face at the thought of actually dealing with something that wasn't personal or akuma related.

Walking around a chimney stack, he stopped. There before him, laying on this cold, random rooftop in the middle of Paris _(miles from her home)_ was one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping and he took the moment to actually look at her for the first time in days.

She was wearing a plain black hoodie that was partially zipped up over a familiar black striped shirt and barely-there dark green shorts that had cat paw prints dotting them.

This girl was going to be the death of him.

Unsure if she was actually asleep or not, Chat Noir quietly walked over to his dark-haired classmate - and kicked her foot.

Marinette's eyes popped open, and her lips parted as if she were going to say something. After a moment she settled on, "Oh. It's you," and closed her eyes again.

The irrational irritation of being ignored came as he took a seat next to her and stared out over the Paris skyline.

She didn't move from her prone position, though Chat was sure she might have scooted a little closer. After some minutes of quietude between them he glanced at her again and finally asked, "Seriously. What are you doing out here?"

She grumbled.

"What?"

"I'm not here, Chat Noir," she said, one eye popping open, "I'm really in my room practicing astral projection. This is just an image of me that has manifested here to enjoy the coolness and peace of a Paris evening."

"Uh huh," he said dryly. He reached over and poked her arm with a clawed finger. Hard.

"OW! Dammit! Okay fine! You win!" She sat up and glared at him, a pout forming on her lips that he refused to think of as adorable.

"I'm contemplating life, the secrets of the universe, and one Adrien Agreste and his oblivious model-ways."

He puffed out a laugh and gave her an incredulous look. "His oblivious model ways, huh?"

Crossing her arms, she studiously looked away from him but nodded her head.

He sighed. He had been hoping to talk to Ladybug about Marinette knowing his identity before addressing the situation with the girl herself. But apparently, that would not be the case.

Keeping his eyes forward, he said "Does Ladybug know that you know who I am?"

Marinette's eyes got wide and impossibly innocent. "Ladybug knows that I know you're Chat Noir, yes." She nodded. "Then again, I'm pretty certain that everyone knows you're Chat Noir. It's kind of obvious with that getup."

Chat groaned. "You do know that this is serious, right?" He turned to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. There was no humor in his own and he hoped that he was getting his point across. "Marinette," his voice was stern, "this is no laughing matter. You could be in so much danger. Ladybug doesn't even know who I am. We made a promise to not reveal ourselves to each other so that we could keep everyone safe. You knowing is not good at all."

Something softened in Marinette's own eyes. Her smile was sweeter and some of the defensiveness that had surrounded her dissipated. Reaching a finger up, she traced his cheek.

Chat groaned. She was not taking any of this seriously. He grabbed her wrist and stared into those deep blue ocean-colored eyes, almost getting lost in them.

Her breath hitched and she licked her lips drawing his gaze to them. Gulping, he reigned his thoughts in and dragged his eyes back to hers.

"How did you find out, Mari?" He whispered.

"That's a secret I'll let you in on later," she said just as quietly.

He scrunched his eyes closed and took a deep breath. "I don't like this. I just want you to be safe."

"Don't worry, Chat. I'm pretty good at protecting myself." Her finger trailed down his cheek and she gently pulled away from him. "I have some mad skills."

She stood and gave him that smile that was so rarely directed at him, "Or so my kwami says that I do, anyway. Also – thanks for the shirt!"

She took a running leap and jumped to the next roof, leaving a stunned Chat Noir behind. He wasn't sure what was more surprising, the intense moment they just shared or the very strong possibility that Marinette just revealed herself as Ladybug.

Marinette couldn't be Ladybug though, could she…?

But then, how else would she know about kwamis?

 _ **A/N: *Ah, Mari. Are you sure you're not related to Plagg?***_

 _ **Let me know what you think! Comments and Kudos are life. :)**_


	6. Why Does She Have to be so Mean?

**_A/N: First: You guys are awesome and amazing and I adore each and every one of you. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for sticking with me through this entirely silly story. I had no idea where it was going from the very beginning and you guys still encouraged me. You guys are all just wonderful!_**

 ** _Second: YAYS! Here it is! The final chapter! I'm so proud of myself. I have sooo much going on in my life and a few other chapter stories that while not abandoned, are definitely not finished and have been in the works for literally years. This is my first finished chapter story EVER and it's so exciting._**

 ** _Anyway, enough of that. Enjoy!_**

 **Chapter Six**

 **Why Does She Have to be so Mean?**

 _ **In which… We conclude.**_

 _Adrien paced his room that evening going back and forth over whether it was possible that Marinette could be Ladybug. Plagg was surprisingly silent on the matter which Adrien was grateful for. He needed to be able to think, and Plagg's incessant prattling about cheese would be no help._

 _On the one hand, if she was Ladybug, then he found the love of his life and she liked him back, and they could live happily ever after._ _"After you grovel for about ten years maybe_ _," the Plagg in his mind whispered._

 _On the other hand, if she wasn't Ladybug, then she knew far more than she should, and he should probably alert Master Fu. Except, he didn't want to bother the elderly man with this. He wished he could call Ladybug right now and discuss this issue with her, but what if Marinette_ _was_ _Ladybug?_

 _Then he would be talking to her about her. Although he supposed if she was his masked partner in red then he had already talked to her about her._

 _Ugh!_ _He was so confused._

 _"You need to go to bed," Plagg said in a surprisingly gentle voice as he landed on Adrien's shoulder._

 _"What? Oh no." Adrien shook his head. "I'm good. I just need to figure a few more things out."_

 _"You're getting all worked up for nothing, Kid. So what if she's Ladybug? You like the girl. Nothing is going to change."_

 _Adrien deflated a bit at that. "I told all of them that I didn't like her. She's clinging to that. I think it's why she's been so distant lately." He hung his head and mumbled, "And if she's Ladybug, then it also explains why she hasn't been around so much."_

 _Plagg didn't say anything to that. What could he say that wouldn't out Pigtails for who she was and bring on Tikki's ire. Seeing that Adrien had gone back to his internal debate, Plagg sighed and floated back to his favorite garbage can. This was a mess and one that he knew these two idiots needed to figure out no matter how determined Ladybug's chosen was to stay away._

 _It had been two weeks since his rooftop encounter with Marinette, and he had barely been able to sleep since then. He was convinced that she was Ladybug, and it wasn't just because of what she had said that night. A few days later at the end of an akuma battle when they went in for their celebratory fist-bump, he quipped, "As always, m'lady's brilliance has saved the day again." He had expected her to brush him off, but instead she laughed and looked away shyly. That was new._

 _But then she huffed, and said," You shouldn't say such things when you don't really mean them, Chaton," and threw her yo-yo onto the next building, pulling herself away from him. The comment was not that far off from the sly comments and quick comebacks that Marinette would give him when they worked together in class, though she never allowed him to form a rebuttal. She always saved the words to just before the teacher said something or it was time to leave._

 _He was so_ _tired_ _of seeing Marinette's back. He thought about cornering her on her balcony a few times, but then decided against it when he figured that she would probably just ignore him. She was endearingly stubborn like that. Just like his lady._

 _It all came to a head one fine morning when his father was in his office ranting. It was rare that Adrien ever heard Gabriel raise his voice, but the anger that he heard that morning was something he would remember for the rest of his life. His yells reverberated off the walls and into the hallway, and though Adrien couldn't hear everything that was being said, he caught Monique's name, the MDC label, and something about contracts._

 _Though his interest was piqued, he tiptoed past the office in the hope that his father wouldn't notice him and include him in his ire. When he got to the head of the stairs, he bolted down to them and grabbed his bag. Just as he opened the door, Gabriel stormed out and down the stairs._

 _"Adrien."_

 _Groaning quietly, Adrien turned around. "Yes father?" He tried to inject as much cheer into his voice as he could, but even he could tell that his smile fell flat._

 _Gabriel paced towards him. "You're on your way to school?"_

 _Adrien tried to keep the "duh" look off his face lest his father got any angrier. The narrowing of his father's eyes and tightening of his jaw told the young man that he wasn't that successful. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh – yes Father."_

 _Gabriel nodded. "Good. Good. When you get there, you can tell that meddling friend of yours to leave her hands off of my models." He became more agitated as he spoke. Adrien stared at him with wide eyes not knowing what to say. He had never seen his father be that dramatic._

 _"I – uh – I have no idea…" He started to say._

 _Not listening to his son, Gabriel shooed Adrien out the door._

 _Adrien opened his car door to the usual throng of students. Nino was sitting on the wall listening to music with Alya beside him updating her blog. Marinette, as always, was nowhere to be seen. He wished that just once she would be on time so he could maybe work through whatever these issues were._

 _"ADRIKINS!" He braced himself for the oncoming tornado that was Chloé and was glad he did when she jumped on him and started kissing him all over his cheeks. He grabbed her arms from around his neck and pushed her off, firmly aware of the mutterings and stares of their peers._

 _Undeterred, Chloé looped her arm through his and started dragging him up the stairs. He shot Nino and Alya a look clearly begging for help. Alya just rolled her eyes and Nino pretended to be too engrossed in his music._

 _His friends sucked. Could he get a trade-in?_

 _The whole time Chloé chattered on about latest shopping trip, how terrible the girls at the boutique were where she got her mani/pedi, the gossip at her father's hotel, and how awful it was that Jagged Stone insisted that Marinette get an invitation to the party being held that weekend._

 _"It's just not fair, Adri-honey!" Chloé whined. "Why should she get an invitation, but not me?"_

 _A vision of Jagged Stone running up to Frayer, yelling,_ _"Put my designer down,"_ _came to his mind and he stopped on the stairs, almost throwing his blonde companion down them._

 _"Mon Dieu!" He whimpered. "How could I have been so stupid?"_

 _"Adrien!" Chloé yelled, grabbing hold of his arm to steady herself. "What the hell?"_

 _"Sorry Chlo," he muttered walking again._

 _"What is it? What happened?"_

 _"Nothing. I just – " A crowd coming up the sidewalk caught his attention and his words trailed off._

 _"An akuma?" He whispered, his body tensing and readying to protect his friend._

 _Chloé shook her head. "Well if it is, it's not my fault this time."_

 _Her response was so dry and out-of-the-blue that he snorted out a laugh. "Glad you recognize your capabilities," he giggled._

 _Her face crumpled into something that looked like a kicked puppy. The action was so foreign to her personality that his mirth sobered up quicker than it probably would have._

 _"Okay. I'm sorry." He held his hands up in a type of surrender. She looked away from him and stuck her nose up._

 _"You should be," she huffed._

 _"Marinette!" He thought he heard Monique's voice call from below them, drawing his attention away from Chloé and back to the crowd on the sidewalk and the possibility of an akuma. He really hoped Monique wasn't going after Mari again. He wasn't sure if he could handle another heart attack._

 _He saw his princess dart across the street, and_ _oh lord, was trying to kill him?_ _She was wearing a red with black ladybug-dotted leather miniskirt that had a zipper from the top to bottom in the front middle, with a ring at the top and a belt that looped around her waist. Her sweater was black knit and came to rest at the top of her skirt. Her socks were sheer black and came to a rest just above her knees, and were those cat ears on the cuffs of them? She had a black pouch spotted with red dots instead of her normal pink one at her side._

 _"Oh my gosh! Marinette! I can't believe you were able to do it!" Monique yelled, throwing herself on the girl as she made it to this side of the road._

 _He didn't realize when he started moving towards them until he was amidst the crowd. He recognized quite a few of the people as being models from MDC's lineup at the photoshoot, along with Luka._

 _He scowled briefly at the other man who merely smiled widely and waved._

 _"You're the absolute best!" Monique was still hugging Marinette and he was sure she was going to suffocate. He breathed a little easier when another model stepped in and gently pulled her off._

 _Marinette was smiling brightly as she said, "You're quite welcome. It's the least I could do. You shouldn't have been treated that way, and it was my fault."_

 _"You're too good," said his giddy friend, but he watched in fascination as Marinette's face turned a shade of red that he hadn't seen since before he announced it to everyone that he didn't like her._

 _He missed that blush… and just –_ _Oh_ _. Well, he supposed he should have figured out his feelings for her ages ago._

 _"Your outfit is amazing!" Monique continued gushing. I can't believe you made it, I mean – I guess it shouldn't surprise me since you're – well you." She gestured to the whole of Marinette making some of the others laugh at her words, but the dark-haired girl just grinned and patted her shoulder._

 _"It's all right. We just can't let too many people know. I like my anonymity. These guys," she waved her hand to take in the whole of the group, "They only know because they have to."_

 _"What do they know?" Adrien spoke up. He was suddenly in front of her and he saw with an even closer inspection how much more of a nod to Chat Noir she had given in her design than he had originally thought. The zipper on her purse was an emerald green, matching the small Chat Noir paw print on the tiny baton that was attached to the ring of the belt on her skirt. Slung across her arm was the Chat Noir jacket he had modeled a few weeks back._

 _"Nothing," Marinette squeaked. He realized that he had missed that too. His grin turned Cheshire as he moved more into her space, Monique moved out of the way and the entirety of the group watched this strange mating dance._

 _"'Cause it seems to me that you may have some secret identity your hiding from your closest friends, M."_

 _"What? No, I… No," she stuttered, looking behind him. Glancing back, he saw Alya, Nino, Chloé and several others had joined the group to see what was going on._

 _"Leave her alone, Adrien," Monique said, cuffing him on the back of his head. He ignored her though and leaned even further in, catching the sound of Marinett's hitching breath. Grinning at the affect he was having on her and even more at finally (_ _finally!)_ _having the upper hand for once, he whispered so that only she could hear, "It must be clawful tiring juggling all those secret identities and stealing my father's models away from him, M'lady?"_

 _He expected her to be a blushing mess when he retreated from her space. However, when he took in her face, all he saw was that steely determination that he had fallen so much in love with. She was unsmiling, though her eyes couldn't hide the amusement dancing within._

 _The bell rang causing some of the group to break away and go inside._

 _Marinette took a step back from him and grinned before saying, "Oh, Chaton. One could argue that it's not necessarily thievery if the thing, or person in this case, is let go." She tilted her head to the side, gazing up at him softly, making his heart jump into his throat. "You should know this. After all, you've had my heart for quite a while now." She giggled at his awestruck face and took another step back, turning away from him again._

 _His hand shot out and grabbed her arm pulling her back to him. "No. Not this time," he murmured before his head descended towards her surprised face. He only caught a brief glimpse of her widening eyes before he finally tasted her incredibly sassy mouth._

 _It was Marinette who broke away from him, blushing hard and giggling at the clapping and whistling from the group around them._

 _Burying her head in his chest, but lifting her face just enough for him to see her eyes through her bangs, he was just barely able to hear her say coyly, "But I thought you didn't like me?"_

 _Adrien groaned. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"_

 _She sighed and giving him a grin, she said cheerfully "Nope," and then dragged him behind her to class, completely ignoring the calls of the other models, their best friends, and Chloé's groaning._

 _ **A/N: It feels so anticlimactic…**_

 _ **Reviews are life!**_


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